Harrison Station Rehabilitation

Cleaner. Brighter. Safer. Modern.

...These are just some of the ways you might describe the Harrison Red Line following a $10 million rehabilitation project.

In the spring of 2014, CTA crews began performing deep, structural work to not only improve your experience using the station, but also to revitalize the look-and-feel of the station to better reflect the surrounding neighborhood.

The Harrison Station Rehabilitation project is part of a larger $92 million investment in Near South Side transportation options announced by Mayor Emanuel in August 2013.

Other investments in this area include the construction of the $50 million Cermak-McCormick Place Green Line station; the Orange Line 18th Street Connector project – a $25 million structural improvement project, and the rehabilitation of the Roosevelt ($7 million) Red/Orange/Green station.

What's in the project?

Here’s a glimpse at just some of the work that we performed:

Safety: water mitigation efforts to reduce pooling of water in mezzanine and platform areas; replacement of stairway handrails, treads, risers and wall tile.

Security: installation of new high-definition surveillance cameras and all new LED lighting in mezzanine area.

Customer Information: more new Train Tracker displays; new public address system; and updated system signage throughout the station and entrances.

Station/Platform Finishes: new granite flooring in the mezzanine and platform areas; new ceramic tile and pattern design along walls.

Infrastructure: two new main entrance canopies (over the stairwells that face Harrison from street level); new layout of fare equipment in main and auxiliary entrances; repairs to all three Harrison station stairways and station/platform columns; repair and paint platform tube ceilings; painting and cleaning of entire station, stairways and platform areas.

What's the timeline for this work?

Station rehabilitation work occured between April and August 2014; however, additional work will occur through late-summer as crews upgrade the station's communication network with the installation of a new public address system and speakers and additional CTA Train Tracker signs in the two mezzanines and along the platform.

As with all major project work, every effort is being made to minimize the impact on our customers and service.

How was this funded?

Funding for this $10 million project was from local tax-increment financing (TIF) made available through Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago Neighborhoods Now program.

How will project work affect your trip?

Project work requiring temporary station closures is now complete. Crews will, however, continue to work in the area for the next several weeks to finish the remaining smaller project details, which will have little to no impact on Red Line service or customer access to trains.

For the project to proceed quickly and safely, the majority of the rehabilitation work was performed in phases, which entailed the temporary closure of each station entrance for 42-days, while crews rehabilitated the stairways, mezzanine areas and portions of the platform – though not at the same time – plus five weekend-only closures of the entire station. To perform this work, the following temporary closures were needed:

Polk Street Entrance: was closed between April 14 and May 26, as crews rehabilitated the auxiliary entrance mezzanine area, stairways and the south end of the platform.

Harrison Street Entrance: was closed between June 16 and July 28, while crews rehabilitated the entrance stairway, mezzanine area and the north end of the platform.

Also, to allow crews to perform more comprehensive work throughout the station, or in central areas that could not be cordoned off in a way that allowed passenger use of the station (such as on or over the platform), the entire Harrison station was temporarily closed the following five weekends beginning 10 p.m. each Friday until 4 a.m. the following Monday:

May 2-5

May 9-12

May 16-19

May 30 -- June 2

June 6-9

During these temporary weekend station closures, customers needing access to Red Line were directed to use either the nearby Jackson or Roosevelt stations, which are each a half mile or less from Harrison, by either walking or boarding a #29 State bus to the respective station.

What does the rehabilitated station look like?

The following are before and after photos of the recently rehabilitated 70-year old station:

BEFORE: Entrance canopy at the Harrison end of station

AFTER:Entrance canopy at the Harrison end of station

Note: The newer canopy over the stairwell at the Polk entrance was maintained (rather than redone).